( So the Al Qaeda outfits armed and funded by GCC nations such as the Saudis and Qatar and previously aided by Turkey - now the story is Iran is assisting the same Al Qaeda forces fighting Assad ? Lol ..... So , is this the excuse for the collapse of the Al Qaeda option and explanation as to why Al Qaeda has fought other so called Rebel forces ? )

US: Here's More Evidence That Iran Is Helping al Qaeda In Syria

The U.S. Treasury Department has accused Tehran of allowing senior al Qaeda members in Iran to move Sunni fighters into Syria, Jay Soloman of The Wall Street Journal reports.

Earlier this month, U.S. officials told Al Jazeera that senior al Qaeda operative Yasin al Suri — who is suspected of moving money and operatives into Syria since 2011 — is now running operations from Iran with the tacit blessing of the government.

The latest charge by Obama administration provides further evidence that parts of the Islamic Republic's government or military have been at least indirectly enabling the rise of extremists in Syria while also serving as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's closest military and diplomatic ally.

The Treasury sanctioned a senior Uzbek member of al Qaeda, Jafar al-Uzbeki, for allegedly using Iran to move fighters into Syria. The U.S. said Mr. Jafar is part of an al Qaeda network operating from Iran that has also moved fighters into Pakistan and Afghanistan "and operates there with the knowledge of Iranian authorities."

The Treasury added that the network "also uses Iran as a transit point for moving funding and foreign fighters through Turkey to support al Qaeda-affiliated elements inside Syria," including the main al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.

Al Monitor reports that about a month ago, a high-ranking delegation from Iran visited met high-ranking Turkish officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara and "there was agreement on exchanging information and coordinating closely on the situation in Syria."

The Nusra Front and more recently Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) have been selling oil to the Assad regime. ISIS, the most extreme rebel faction in Syria, is dominated by foreigners. Activists claim that one ISIS leader who was captured in Aleppo held an Iranian passport.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Friday that Syria has become an issue of homeland security for the United States.

The new head of the Department of Homeland Security returned Thursday night after a two-day trip to Poland with Attorney General Eric Holder.

Johnson said he and Holder met with six of Johnson’s counterparts from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Poland.

“Syria was the number one topic of conversation for them and for us. Syria has become a matter of Homeland Security,” Johnson said Friday at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., where he laid out his agenda.

Johnson was in Poland to attend the European Union’s G6 Interior Ministers meeting to discuss concerns over foreign fighter travel to and from Syria.

“During the meetings, Secretary Johnson discussed the inextricable link between the United States’ security and that of our international partners, underscoring the need to continue to work closely together to strengthen the security of the global trade and travel networks upon which all our nations’ economies and citizens rely,” the DHS said in a release on Thursday.

On Friday, Johnson said the DHS, the FBI and the American intelligence community will continue to work closely to identify al Qaeda-linked groups in Syria.

Chechen commander for Al Nusrah Front reported killed in Aleppo

By BILL ROGGIOFebruary 7, 2014 9:55 AM

A Chechen commander known as Saifullah al Shishani is reported to have been killed during fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Units from the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda's official branch in Syria, and Ahrar al Sham, one of the larger units in the Islamic Front, are currently fighting Syrian forces in an effort to take control of a prison in Aleppo. The two jihadist groups teamed up in December in an effort to take the prison and an adjoining hospital.

Saifullah was previously a commander in the Muhajireen Army, which is led by Chechen commander Abu Omar al Shishani (the Chechen) and who has sworn allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. Last year, Saifullah and another Chechen commander split with Abu Omar and the ISIS.

"Saifullah al-Shishani defected with 400 of his men three months ago, followed by Sheikh Salah al-Shishani with 800 of his men," Al Akhbar reported in early January.

Al Qaeda General Command disowned the ISIS earlier this week. The denunciation took place after months of infighting between the ISIS on one side and the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic Front on the other, as well as a very public leadership dispute between the leader of the ISIS and Al Nusrah. Al Qaeda attempted to mediate the dispute, and the ISIS's leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, rebuffed the efforts.

Pro-al Qaeda clerics are now calling on members of the ISIS to defect. While the move has weakened the ISIS in Syria, jihadists such as Saifullah who have been or currently are abandoning the group are largely flocking to the Al Nusrah Front.

Key member of the Islamist Front signs truce with ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham]. SRF [Syrian Revolutionaries Front ] statement released today not acknowledging agreement.

The ISIS and the Suqour al-Sham islamist brigades, a main component in the Islamic Front, have signed a ceasefire yesterday. The agreement meant the immediate halt of clashes between the two militias and that neither side would support another armed group if they were clashing with them. If either side negates the agreement a joint shari'a court would be set to settle the dispute.

It is important to note that clashes have taken place between the two groups, with a military commander of Suqour al-Sham, and head of one of its brigades, and 6 fighters from the brigade, were killed by an ISIS ambush in the Sha'er dessert, Hama province.

On the 2nd of this month violent clashes took place between the two groups by the Sha'er oil fields, in the southwest of Hama province. The ISIS managed to besiege more than 500 fighters from Suqour al-Sham, with attempts by islamist and non-islamist rebels to break the siege.

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The Syrian Revolutionaries Front issued a statement condemning the ceasefire of a prominent member of the IF with the ISIS. The statement called the ISIS a dark movement that enjoys spilling blood and has left Islam by the near unanimous fatwas, accusing it of several massacres against "Ahl al-Sunna" and even that it is working in collaboration with the regime. The Front stated that it will both battle the "Nusayri" (derogatory term for Alawi) regime and the ISIS.

As for the ceasefire, the statement called it illegitimate because it stemmed from a siege. The Front called for an end to the bloodshed and the evacuation of the foreign ISIS fighters outside of Syria. They state that they are the true defenders of Islam and the revolution and called on other rebel organisations to establish a joint room of operations.

The Syrian Revolutionaries Front, an alliance of 14 rebel groups from the all but defunct Free Syrian Army, may protest the ceasefire with the ISIS, but Suqour al Sham is no longer a member of the FSA and does not recognize the Syrian National Council. Suqour al Sham joined the Islamic Front in December 2013.

The timing of the ceasefire is interesting given Al Qaeda General Command's denunciation of the ISIS earlier this week. The denunciation serves to further isolate the ISIS from the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, as well as from allies in the Islamic Front. The ISIS has been clashing with the Islamic Front and other rebel units over the ISIS' heavy-handed treatment of competing groups.

US senators demand say in Afghanistan deal

WASHINGTON: A bipartisan group of senators demanding an end to US military involvement in Afghanistan urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to seek congressional approval if he wants to keep troops there beyond 2014.
The Obama administration is negotiating a bilateral security agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai that could keep troops in Afghanistan after the longest war in US history winds down at the end of this year, when the NATO mission ends.
“We are introducing a bipartisan resolution to say before any American soldier, sailor, airman or Marine is committed to stay in Afghanistan after 2014, Congress should vote,” Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley told reporters.
“Automatic renewal is fine for Netflix and gym memberships, but it isn’t the right approach when it comes to war.”
Conservative Senator Mike Lee and fellow Republican Senator Rand Paul have also signed on.
The resolution does not take sides on keeping troops in Afghanistan, nor does it prevent the US military from attacking al Qaeda or gathering intelligence there, Lee noted.
It simply states that “after more than a decade of war, Congress, and more importantly the American people, need to have a voice in this debate,” he said.
“The decision to sacrifice American blood and treasure in this conflict should not be made by the White House and the Pentagon alone.”
Congressional resolutions are not legally binding, but they can convey a sense of where lawmakers stand on an issue and put some pressure on the administration.
The Senate and House of Representatives both introduced similar measures last year, albeit in amendment form, but neither passed the full Congress.
The Afghanistan war, which began shortly after the 9/11 attacks of 2001, has cost more than 2,300 American lives and $600 billion, the resolution states, adding it is time for Afghans to take responsibility for governing themselves.
“This resolution basically says it all: rebuild America, not Afghanistan,” said Senator Joe Manchin, a Democratic co-sponsor who said Karzai was no Washington ally.

At least 36 people were killed and 69 more were wounded in fresh attacks. Among the casualties were soldiers wounded in clashes with militants outside of Anbar province.

Anbar‘s governor, Ahmed al-Dulaimi, offered amnesty to any anti-government fighters who lay down their arms in the next week. He promised that the government would not negotiate with the ISIS/DAASH organization attempting the takeover of the province. Nine gunmen were killed in clashes and air strikes at the outskirts ofFalluja.

At least 32 people were killed and 70 more were wounded in the latest violence. A number of the casualties occurred in Anbar, but the worst single attack took place in Tuz Khormato. Also, a man running for a post in Baghdad was assassinated.